I, Curtis

Category: Academic

  • Potential Thesis Topic: Contextual Sadomasochist Identity

    Presented below is one potential idea for a thesis topic. It is merely a notion of an idea that I have that has been thrown into a basic abstract format for simplicity and clarity (and potentially future use in a thesis proposal). It is still very sketchy, but it is an idea I would like to run with.

    ABSTRACT: This thesis explores the social context in which sadomasochism exists. The sadomasochist identity is dual homed in being a viable alternative sexuality and in being classified as a deviant identity. Sadomasochistic identity carries with it negative social sanctions, just as sadomasochistic behavior can carry legal sanctions. Despite external negative reactions, participants in mutual consenting sadomasochistic relationships report positive attitudes. The objective of this thesis is to explore existing literature of both positive and negative interpretations of sadomasochism and identify symbolic relationships between the deviant identity and the values of mainstream culture.

    Sociology: Social Psychology: Identity: Deviant Identity: Sadomasochist: Social Context

  • Making Sense of Identity

    I have been struggling for the past 3 weeks to establish the baseline for my work toward my thesis as well as the more current pressing matter of my directed readings project. Trying to assemble these thoughts I have come up with the following paragraph:

    At the core of a social life is the construct of identity. Identity is the vessel in which each individual stores a sense of self, established through internal thoughts and feelings as well as external interactions. A large component of individual identity is group affiliation. Such affiliations are established through social connections, in-group behavior and out-group presentation. Identity is not only a construction of the sum of experiences and social attributes, but also by determining what attributes do not describe the person. Social psychology involves the use of various theories to describe and define how these identities are formed, whether by symbolic interactions, controls of affect in interpersonal interaction or some other means. Regardless of the theory used a common trait of all interpretations is the identification with a specific category, label or strata of social experience. Group process is a large part of identity, but it is far from all of it and there is nearly always more than one in-group identity to which each person belongs.

  • A Postmodern Sociology

    During my year in the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies graduate certificate program I encountered critical theory, postmodernism and poststructuralism numerous times. It just goes with the territory. It is difficult to study gender or sexuality without being able to deconstruct it and the best tools for that are provided by postmodern thought. Deconstructing the history that has been created is carried out through Derrida. Deconstructing the language that backs that history is carried out through Foucault. Deconstructing the performance of the history and the linguistic elements are carried out through Butler.

    Now, on the first day of my second week of the Master of Arts in Sociology I am reviewing articles related to my potential thesis topics and discover that all four of the articles that I pulled make some reference to critical theory or postmodern thought. It seems that I have come across the area of theory that is actually applicable to my areas of interest. I react to this with both anxiety (because I am somewhat perplexed by critical theory) and relief (because this is one less new thing to learn).

    I have been contemplating what my actual area of interest is given that I identify most closely with social psychology (and came from a psychology program), and am intrigued by deviant behavior, gender and sexuality. After spending some time reading on one area of social psychology, identity, it seems that I’ve found where everything converges in a way that makes sense. The social psychology of identity is a broad enough topic to allow me to explore a large amount of my interests in a cohesive way.

    Currently I am thinking I would like to focus my research on the social construction of identities and separately on deviant identities. There are probably ways to approach these topics within the positivist and quantitative scopes, but I find myself drawn more to the theoretical aspects of postmodernism, they allow for something that I perceive to be more meaningful than generating statistics about a group or behavior set and then attempting to classify based on it. In my limited social training through gender studies I have found that creating classifications or separating people based on numbers leads to discrimination and attempts to prove that people in the numerical minority are somehow inappropriate or bad because they don’t conform to the same behaviors and thoughts as the majority. Critical theory, postmodernism and poststructuralism defy the constructions of rigid barriers and challenge the authority of the majority, calling into question their version of history and the linguistic constructions with which they attempt to define the world for everyone.

    At some point my mission in sociology became not one of social research or analysis of social institutions, but of constructing discourse which promotes greater social justice and breaks the barriers of power which currently deny the existence of so much of the social capital that exists.

  • A Closer Inspection of My Academic Interests

    A listing of my academic interests. I have realized that until this point there had been no singular list of my academic interests, and so now the time has come for me to establish one in these last days before I begin the Master of Arts in Sociology. It is obvious from the listing that I am now and always have been a student of interdisciplinary topics. Sociology is where my strongest interests are and where I am most focused, but I do believe it to be important that I find ways to interact with my other interests at any available opportunity. I have also become aware that Dr. Stephenson has corrupted me through critical theory, as I am now skeptical of the legitimacy and outward perception of all things socially constructed.

    • Social Sciences
      • Sociology
        • Social Psychology
          • Small Group Interactions
          • Sociology of Emotion
          • Body Image
          • Identity
        • Deviant Behavior
          • Crime
          • Youth Offenders
          • Subcultural Groups
          • “Aberrant” Sexualities
            • Fetish
            • BDSM
          • Reactions of normative society
          • Non-normative Relationships
            • “Bro-mance”
            • “Sisters”
            • Consensual BDSM relationships of a non-romantic nature
            • Fetishist and the embodied object (personified commodity attraction)
        • Sociology of Gender
          • Masculinity
            • as a social institution
            • interaction with non-heterosexual identities (intersectionality)
          • Gender Formation
          • Performative Gender Citation (“Citationality”)
          • Interrelation of Race, Gender and Sexuality
        • Sociology of Family
          • Alternative Family Structures
          • Impact of religion upon family
        • Sociology of the Internet
          • Identity as a function of the Domain Naming System
          • Commodification of social interaction
          • Impact of technological limitations upon community formation
        • Sociology of Health and Illness
          • Cultures of Obesity
          • Interactions of education and physical fitness
          • Institutional requirements of fitness
            • Military
            • Cliques
            • Involvement in masculine identity
        • Sociology of Knowledge
          • in relation to Cognition, Phil of Mind and Critical Theory
          • Linguistics
          • Social construction of reality
        • Critical Sociology
          • Impact of sociology upon society
          • Assumptions in sociological methods
          • Difference in perceptions of qualitative vs. quantitative sociology
      • Psychology
        • Cognition
        • Social Psychology
          • see Sociological Social Psychology above
      • Philosophy
        • Philosophy of Mind
        • Epistemology
        • Aesthetics
      • Anthropology
        • Cultural Studies
          • Subcultures (see Deviant Behavior)
          • Cultural Appropriation
          • “Authenticity”
        • Past Civilizations
          • Sexuality and Gender Expression
          • Social Structures
        • Nomadic Societies
    • Information Technology
      • Computer Science
        • Data Structures
        • Database Design
        • Artificial Intelligence
          • Machine Learning
      • Information Systems
        • Human-Computer Interactions
        • Application Design
        • Brain-Machine Interfaces
    • Art
      • Ceramics
        • Utilitarian Vessels
      • Photography
        • Landscapes
        • Macro
        • High-Dynamic Range
        • Classic Photographic Methods (Film)
        • Emerging Techniques and Technologies
      • Art History
        • Japanese Utilitarian and Ceremonial Vessels
        • Greek Ceramics (Ancient)
        • The Masters
        • Historic interactions between art and science
    • Interdisciplinary Inquiry
      • Gender & Sexuality
        • various notations above
      • Critical Theory
        • The myth of the expert
        • Queer theory
        • Discursive construction of society
      • Cognitive Science
        • Artificial intelligence
        • Social formation of the concept of reality

  • Becoming A Junior Scholar

    Monday morning at 11am I went to the University for a sociology orientation. I was uncertain of what to expect from this first encounter with the faculty and my cohort. Almost immediately it was confirmed that my understanding that I was one of six selected was correct. I am the type that typically likes to be quiet in large groups and typically have a hard time opening up in small groups, so at first it was a little intimidating, but it turns out that my cohort is quite friendly and most of us have at least something in common.

    Most of the orientation was rather uninteresting outside of the “getting to know the cohort” stuff, with the exception of a visit from our department chair. She started off her introduction to the group by requesting that we not call her by her doctoral title, but instead call her by her first name. This concept was not entirely unfamiliar to me, as some faculty prefer to be less formal. She went on to explain however, that her undergraduates are expected to call her by her doctoral title and that only her colleagues could call her by her first name. She prefers to think of graduate students as “junior scholars”. After spending the previous year in a graduate certificate program this transition did not occur to me, I did not consider that one of the key differences between undergraduate and graduate work was the level of engagement with the department and the institution. I am no longer merely a student, I am now a junior scholar, with all of the benefits and responsibilities of that status.

  • Why Sociology?

    My academic interests to this point may not scream that sociology is the logical choice for me, but I do feel as though it is a good fit. The programs I considered at the same time as sociology were counseling and a liberal studies degree. Counseling was and is my first choice, but things just did not align for that, so I am restricted to a more academic pursuit. In retrospect I was drawn to counseling because of status and stigma, I am not drawn to it as an academic discipline as I am with sociology.

    So, why sociology? Sociology is the academic discipline that is able to contain all of my academic interests neatly in a single program. Mental health and psychology do not cover my interests in social customs such as marriage and religion. Psychology treats my deviant behavior I interests as things to be treated and not things to be understood in a social context. My belief is that most behaviors and factors that affect daily life are based in some form of social learning or socialized construction. For this reason sociology interests me and is an academic discipline that I feel strongly toward. I feel that I can benefit the field of sociology and I feel that it can benefit me.

    I will have a hard time trying to decide what I want to put the most emphasis on in my degree as there are so many areas that draw me in.

    Deviant behavior is a big area for me. I am interested in it generally from the aspect of why deviant behavior exists or why deviance is a classification of behavior. I am also interested in the cultures of deviance such as those involved in fetish and sadomasochistic communities. A key question in this area is "why do non-conforming people form communities?".

    On the other side of deviance is the conforming world of family, marriage and religion. Religion fascinates me because I don’t have one and thus the social forces involved in religion is a total mystery to me. From my first sociology class as an undergrad (in 2004) I have contemplated the meaning of family and the origins of it’s definition. I suppose my question here is: "what is a traditional family and why is the concept of the traditional family perceived as critical to social cohesion?".

    Why sociology? I am intrigued by structural systems of power and their influence on the individual.

  • Things I Scribble in The Night

    Fall 2012 Schedule Adjustments

    Get the PDF of these pages.

     

    I scribbled some notes about my course schedule for fall, trying to sort everything out and get myself to commit to a schedule. After reviewing program requirements, my commitments to faculty, course descriptions and other factors I have reduced my course schedule to four courses (12 hours) that seem reasonable to me.

    The current working schedule is as follows:

  • MA-SOCY Admissions Letter

    Letter2

  • Accepted to Master of Arts in Sociology

    Fall2012Program

    I was simply checking my grades today and reviewed my academic transcript and found that my primary program had changed since my last visit. My primary major was listed as “sociology”. I opened up the status of my application to reveal “decision made”. It seems as though I am now a Master of Arts in Sociology student.

  • Spring 2012 Papers

    All of my papers have been turned in and graded. As such, I have now released my papers publicly for reading.

    Also, my new papers website is now up and running. My new paper site is at: http://papers.cmkularski.net.

    You may retrieve this semester’s papers by using the address: http://papers.cmkularski.net/search.php?onProperty=Semester&value=Spring 2012

    Or you may click on individual papers listed below: